10 Ways to Tell Your Nanny Loves Your Kids

While no one loves a child quite like a parent does, most parents hope that their nanny comes in a close second. Even when feelings of jealousy rear their ugly heads, rare is the parent who doesn’t hope that the relationship between their child and his caregiver is a close one. If you’re not quite sure about the feelings that exist between your children and their nanny, here are 10 of the most reliable indicators that she’s almost as fond of them as you are.

She’s Effusive With Praise – A nanny who celebrates every milestone with your children and praises them generously for each and every one of their achievements clearly cares very much for your children and is invested in their continued success. Conversely, a nanny who rarely praises your children and shows little interest in their progress may not have much of an emotional investment in them.

She Shows Sincere Concern When They’re Injured or Ill – When your nanny loves your children, she’s likely to check up on them when they’re not feeling well, whether she’s on the clock or not. She’ll show a very real concern for their well-being, even on days when it’s not technically her responsibility.

She’s Engaged and Attentive – Even though your nanny is only human and will inevitably have days when she’s more worn out than others, she’ll generally be engaged and attentive when she’s emotionally attached to your children. An apathetic caregiver who’s distant and aloof, however, may simply view caring for them as a necessary chore to obtain her salary.

She’s Genuinely Invested in Helping Them Reach Milestones – Loving a child creates an inherent emotional investment in his success, so a nanny who feels true affection for your child will be determined to help him reach crucial developmental milestones and will celebrate each one as it’s achieved.

She Spends Quality Time With Them – Nannies who don’t feel genuine affection for their charges may act in a mere supervisory role, whereas one who does care about them will be eager to spend time playing with them and teaching them new things.

She’s Happy to See Your Children Each Day – The way that your nanny greets your children each day is generally a fairly reliable indicator of how she feels about them. Affectionate greetings and immediate attention shows genuine emotion, while a more detached and businesslike approach may indicate the opposite.

She’s Excited By Their Achievements – Every time your child achieves something new, you feel a surge of pride and excitement. Similarly, a nanny who loves him will be enthusiastic about every success, and eager to celebrate it with him.

She’s Full of Laughter and Cheer – Nannies who don’t have an emotional investment in their charges aren’t likely to be cheerful about spending time with them. One that genuinely cares about your child will almost always be jolly and good-natured when she’s spending time with him, though.

She’s Still Positive at the End of the Day – There will always be days that are more difficult than others, which means that even a nanny who legitimately loves your children may be a bit worn down when you return home from time to time. However, a nanny who’s consistently in a foul mood or is obviously eager to leave the moment you return may not feel attached to your children, and may also not be providing them with the level of care, attention and affection that you’d hoped for.

Your Children Love Her Back – Few things are as reliable when it comes to indicating the nature of a child’s relationship with his caregiver than the way that he feels about her. Rarely will a child express real affection and excitement about seeing a nanny that doesn’t feel the same way about him, so observe the way that your child reacts to and engages with his nanny. If he’s generally happy to see her and can’t wait to fill her in on things that have happened since they last spent time together, there’s a good chance that the two of them have an affectionate and healthy relationship.

It can be difficult to watch your child eagerly greet his nanny or share inside jokes with her that the two of you don’t have, but it’s important to remember how valuable a genuinely loving relationship between a child and professional caregiver is. Rather than allowing natural feelings of jealousy to negatively affect your own relationship with the nanny, try to keep in mind that your child’s love for her is a sign that you’ve chosen his childcare provider exceptionally well.